Fuse device.



E. 0. SCHWEHZERL N. J. CONRAD FUSE DEVICE.y

APPLICATION FILED DEc.a1. |914.

' 1,246,792. y Patented N0vf13, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

Patented Nov. 13, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

FUSE DEVICE.

E. 0. SCHWEITZER 6L N. l. CONRAD.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 31. I9I4. 1,246,792.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEroE.

EDMUND O. SCHWEITZER AND NICHOLAS J. CONRAD, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS,ASSIGNORS TO SCHWEITZER & CONRAD,I OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATIONOF ILLINOIS.

FUSE DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 13, 1917.

Application filed December 31, 1914. Serial No. 879,829.

To all whom. t may concern.'

Be it known that we, EDMUND- O. SCHWEITZER and NICHOLAS J.' CONRAD,citizens of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county ofCook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and usefulImprovement in Fuse Devices, of which the following is a full, clear,concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, forming a part of this specification.

Our invention relates to fuse devices, and especially to fuse devicesespecially adapted for extra high potentials.

An object of the invention is to provide a. simple, practical andeffective device of this kind and to secure certain highly desii-ableresults such as preventing an arc when the device operates, preventingundue generation of heat at such times, preventing breakage in thedevice when the fuse blows, and so on.

Other objects of the invention will appear in the further and moredetailed consideration of the invention.

In carrying out the invention as hereinafter more fully set forth weprovide a holder or container for the fuse, such holder or containerpreferably being of hard relatively unbreakable material. and having acomparatively small bore or channel in which the fuse may be arranged.One end of the fuse is secured to a terminal part of the device. and theother is mechanically connected with a spring which is held normallyunder restraint by the fuse. IVhen the fuse operates, the springcontracts, separating the end portion or terminal to which the fuse wasconnected from the other fuse terminal and thereby forming a long gapwhich will prevent an arc; and owing to the presence of the fuse holderor container an obstacle is in efect interposed in the path of the arcwhich has a damping or preventive effect thereon. and at the same timethe explosion of the fuse is effectively coniined so as to preventdamage and lother objectionable results. The fuse holder or container.together with the spring is preferably inclosed in a tubular casingwhich also is desirably provided with arc extinguishing liquid and thespring is desirably combined with a liquid director adapt-- ed to directsaid arc extinguishing liquid into a space where the fuse explosion hasoccurred, thereby having another influence tending to prevent arcing. Aremovable part forming a vent member` is desirably arf ranged at the endof the tubular casing, so that if necessary said part majv becomeseparated from the casing to vent the device, and especially the fusechamber therein upon operation of the fuse.

In the accompanying drawings Figure l is a longitudinal section 0f aportion ofl a fuse device embodying our present invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross section of the same taken on line Q-Q in Fig. l;

.Figs 3 and 4 are respectively a longitudinal section and an elevationof a detail of construction;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sec-tion of a modified form of device;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the same;

Fig. 'T is a longitudinal section of a further modification; and

Fig. S is a .plan view of the same, with a portion thereof broken awayfor convenience of illustration;

Fig. 9 is a longitudinal section of the upper end portion of a still`further modification; and

Fig. 10 is a cross section taken on line 10-10 in Fig. 9.

I Referring first to the device shown in Figs. 1 to l. inclusive. l isatubular member or casing preferably cylindrical in form and desir-ablymade of some transparent material, such as glass. At-` the upper endl ofthe member 1 is a sleeve or collar-like member Q preferably made ofmetal and encircling the upper end portion of the membei' l. butprojecting above the upper edge thereof. The boreof the upper member 2is enlarged as at 3. forming an annular shoulder l upon which rests adisk 5, preferably of metal which is loosely mounted so as to be readilyremovable and so form a vent member for venting the interior of thedevice. A cap 6 also desirably made of metal is preferably mounted uponthe upper end portion of the sleeve 2. A fuse holder or container 7 isarranged at the upper end of the tubular casing l. lVhile 'this member 7might be 1n various forms or shapes. we preferably make it in thegeneral form of a plug having a body portion adapted to lit loosely inthe upper end 'portion of the tube 1. and also having an annularprojection or iange S adapted to rest upon the upper edge of the tube l.rlhis member 7 is provided with a bore or channel 9, inv

which one or more fuses 1010 are extended, said fuses passingsubstantially through said bore 9. The upper ends of the fuses 10 aresecured as by soldering to a terminal 11 conveniently set in a smallsocket 12 formed in the top of the member 7, a connecting hook or ring14 being secured to said terminal 1.1 and extended up therefrom andconnected to a metal terminal disk 15 mounted on the top of the member7, which disk is in turn connected with the metal sleeve or ferrule 2 bymeans of a flexible conductor 17, whereby said fuses 10 are connected attheir upper ends to the metal 15 sleeve or ferrule 2 which is secured tothe end flange 18 of a terminal clamp 19, which latter is adapted to befitted into spring jaws or terminals of some ordinary or well knownvariety so as t0 connect the fuse device in circuit.

The lower ends of the fuses 10-10 are secured to a metallic terminalmember 20 which extends downwardly vand has its lower end threaded at 21and fittedv into a 25 metallic socket piece 22. A cross piece 23 passesthrough the terminal member 20 and has its ends embedded in the upperportion of a liquid director 24, which latter has a series of inclinedside apertures or passages 25-25, and an upwardly taperingpassage 26. As ring 27 is confined within the tubular mem r 1 and has its upper endsecured to the socket member 22, whereby said spring normally exerts adownward, pull upon said socket member 22 and consequently upon theliquid director 24, and the :fuses 10-10. Aconductor 28 is alsoconnected with the socketA member 22 and extended downwardly within thetube 1, it being understood that the lower end of said socket member isconnected with the lower` end of the fuse device so that it may beconnected to another terminal of the circuit and thereby connect thefuse device as a whole' portion of the errule 2 is desirably provided soas to afford a shield to prevent or stop the movement or development ofarc vapor.

Thus it will be seen that in voperation when the fuses 10 -10 operate byreason of an overload current, the spring 27 will be released andl willcontract, drawing the liquid director 24 downwardly and so separatingthe terminal 20 carried thereby from the dlsk terminal 15, and therebyforming such a long or wide gap as to prevent or reak an arc. At thesame time the arc extinguishing liquid 33 with which the tube 1 isunderstood to be preferably filled, such liquid for example, as carbontetra-chlorid, will be forced upwardly by the liquid director 24 andinjected into the space vbetween the fuse terminals and so offer anotherinfluence tending to break or prevent an arc. The fuse container orholding member 7 which may be ofbakelite or other suitable material, isin the nature of an obstacle in the path of the arc or at any rateserves to restrict the arc to the small bore or passage 9 in said member7, whereby a repressive and extinguishing influence is exerted upon saidarc. At the same time this member 7 serves as a heat insulator toprevent the l spreader distribution of heat caused by the blowing of thefuse; and it will be further seen that the member 7 by reason of itssubstantial and solid plug-like character will limit lthe explosiveaction of the fuse or fuses and protect the adjacent parts of thedevice. 85

The vanes 30-30 tend of course to radiate heat and so prevent undueheating of the device and assist quick cooling of the same afteroperation. The arc vapor shield 31 serves its useful purpose as abovementioned. The vent member 5 and the memA ber 15 may be lifted bodily bythe fuse explosion so as to vent the interior of the tube 1 and member 7and associated parts, and thereby allow adjustment and equilibrium ofpressure and prevent damaging results. VThe cap 6 may be secured firmlyin position in which case the vent member 5 would be lblown against thesame or said cap 6 may also be loosely mounted so as to permit it to beblown olf when the fuse or fuses operate. The vent member 5 ispreferably soldered lightly in position so as to hold it against fallingor being shaken out of place, but at `the same time with insuilicientstrength to hold it against the operation of the fuse.

Referring to the device shown in Figs. 5 and 6, this device is similarto the one shown in the preceding figures, but this device of 11( Figs.5 and 6 has two members 7a and 7", in place of a member 7 of theotherdevice. The member 7a has the bore or passage in which the fuses 10-10are extended and the lmember 7" has a central aperture 35 in 11! whichthe upper fuse terminal 14 is conlined, said member 7" beingpreferablysecured to the underside of the vent member 5. The upper fuse terminal14a is secured to and held in position by a terminal rod or 12( bar 36whose upper end is supported by a bridge 37 mounted upon the top of thecollar or ferrule 2. We have shown the lower end of the fuses 10 securedto a terminal 38 to which a cross piece 23 is secured, as in the 12:other device, said cross piece having its ends embedded in a liquiddirector 24, which is of suitable form having only the bottom funnelshaped aperture 26 without any side apertures. The upper ends of thespring 27 131 and conductor 28 are secured to the terminal 38 and thetube 1 is preferably provlded with carbon tetra-chlorld or similarliquid.

In operation this device is' similar to the other device, but in thisdevice the upper member 7" will be blown out of and away from the restof the device with the vent disk 5, the bridge 37 bein also removable byha its ends solde to the ferrule 2, so aslaldle detached therefrom bythe eX- plosion of the fuse. The other member 7a which is more properlythe fuse holding or containing member, instead of remaining stationaryas vin the other device, moves downwardly with the liquid director 24IBand so remains closer to the lower fuse terminal and receives liquid inits longitudinally arranged bore or channel. This emphasizes the arcextinguishing action, because arc extinguishing liquid tends to occupyand completely till the bore of said member 7.

-Referring to the device shown in Figs. 7 and8, t-his device has member7 like the member 7 of Fig. 1 but has a bridge 3,7 similar to the.bridge 37 of Fig. 5. A vent 5 is provided as in both of said precedingfigures, and a pin or rod 36 extends down from the bridge 37a to a fuseterminal member 14" in a manner similar to the arrangement in Fig. 5.The lower end of the fuse 10 is shown connected to a terminal 40 fromwhich a cro piece 23 extends into a liquid director 24, which is similarto the liquid director 24 vof Fig. 1,'but has the members or portions 41above the side passages 25 projecting laterally beyond the lower portionof the liquid director, as shown at 42, whereby said projecting portionsor ends 42 tend to engage the liquid in their downward movement morelargely than would be the case if they were liush with the remainder ofthe liquid director, so that liquid will be more effectively directedinto the side openings V25. Thel device of Fig. 7 is provided with ashield 31 such as shown in Fig. 1. A clip or blade 19 is secured to theerrule 2 as in Fig. 1, but below this is a metallic collar or sleeve 44having a threaded connection with the lower end of said errule 2,thelower end of which sleeve or union 44 encircles the upper portion ofanother collar or sleeve 45 which surrounds the tubular casing 1, buthas a layer 46 of gum or other suitable material interposed between itand the casing 1. Thus a tight connection or joint is made at the upperend ofA the device.

In the arrangement shown in Figs. 9 and 10 the construction is similarto Figs. 1 and v7, but the liquid director 24 is shown with a. muchlarger bottom opening 26 and smaller side openings 25u than in saidFig.. 1.

It will be understood that changes and modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention.

What we claim is: j

1. In a fuse device, the combination of a tubular containing member, amovable pluglike device at one end of said tubular member, saidplug-like device closing oil. the end of the tubular member, and beingprovided with a use bore or channel, a fuse lying in said bore orchannel, a spring in said tubular member engaging one end of said fuse,and means for engagingv and supporting the other end of said fuse, saidplug-like device being movable outwardly to relieve the pressuregenerated within the ytubular member when the fuse is blown.

2. In a fuse device the combination of a tubular containing member, amovable pluglike device at one end of said tubular member, saidplug-like device substantially clos- 'ing off the end of the tubularmember and being provided with an open use bore or channel, a fuse insaid bore or channel, a spring insaid tubular member engaging one end ofsaid fuse, and means for engaging and holding the other end of saidfuse, said plug-like device and tubular member being provided wit-hcoperating shoulders for engaging one another to hold the plug-likedevice in position, said plug-like device being movable outwardly torelieve the pressure generated within the tubular member when the fuseis blown.

3. In a fuse device, the combination of a tubular containing member, aplug-like device at one end of said tubularmember, mid plug-like devicesubstant-ially closing off the end of the tubular member and beingprovided with a fuse bore or channel, a fuse, an end of which isdisposed in said bore or channel, a spring in said'tubular memberengaging one end of said fuse, and means for engaging the other end 'ofsaid fuse to support the same, said plug-like device being provided withan annular shoulder adapted to engage the end of said tubular member,said plug-like device being movable out,- wardly to relieve the pressuregeneratedf within the tubular member when the fuse is blown.

4. In a fuse device the combination of a tubular member, a plug-likedevice at one end of said tubular member, said plugdike device beingprovided with a fuse bore or channel, a fuse in said bore or channel, a

spring in said tubular member engaging one end of said fuse,`means forengaging the end of said tubular member, said fuse device being providedwith a fuse member, and said plug-like device having a bore4 or channelaording an outlet passage from the interior of said tubular member, aspring in sa1d tubular member engagin one end of said fuse, means forengaging t e` other end of sald fuse, and a vent member mounted at theouter end of said plug-like device opposlte said bore or channel, saidvent memberv having a connection permitting its removal on the operationof the fuse.

6. In a fuse device, a tubular casing, a plug supported at the end ofsaid casing and substantially closing off said casing, sald plug havingan open bore therethrough, a non-fusible terminal member at one end ofsaid bore, said terminal member being larger than said bore and restingagainst the top of the plug, a fuse secured to said terminal member, anda spring normally under tension connected to the false at the other sideof the plug, said spring tending to pull said terminal member againstthe plug.

7. The combination with a fuse, of a holder or container for said fusecomprising a member of relatively hard material provided with a bore orpassage for the fuse but appreciably larger than the fuse, means at oneend of said bore or passage for drawing upon said fuse, means at theother end of said bore or passage for engaging said fuse to hold itunder strain by said drawing means, a -venting member mounted adjacentthe end of said fuse which is engaged and held in restraint, and aliquid director having an opening or passage for the direction ofliquid, said liquid director being attached to said fuse adjacent tosaid spring, and a casing containing said liquid director, and alsocontaining arc extinguishing liquid.

8.` In a fuse device, the combination with a fuse of a liquid directorhaving a central passage and also having side passages for f thedirection of liquid to prevent the formation of an arc. l 9. In a fusedevice a liquid director havmg a central bore or passage'tapering at oneend and also having side bores or paages opening into said central boreor passage and having an inclination similar to the tapering end of saidcentral bore or passage.

10. A fuse device comprising a tubular member having one end providedwith a movable closure containing a fuse, a spring within saidtubular-member acting upon the adjacent end of said fuse, anda removablecovering member covering the outer end pore tion .of said closure, saidcovering being lflapted to be removed by blowing of the se. A

11. A fuse device comprising in combination, a tubular casing, a plugmember serving as a closure for one end of said casing and having alongitudinally extending bore or channel containing a fuse, a springwithin said tubular casing engaging and acting upon the inner end 0fsaid fuse, a metal ferrule encircling the end portion of said tubularcasing containing said plug member, said metal errule projecting beyondthe end of said plug member, and a disk mounted removably for ventinpurposes upon the projecting end of said errule.

12. A fuse device comprising in combina-V tion, a tubular casing, a plugmember serving as a closure for one end of said casing and having alongitudinally extending bore or channel containing a fuse, a springWithin said tubular casing engaging and acting upon the inner end ofsaid fuse, a metal ferrule encircling the end portion of said tubularcasing containing said plug member, said metal ferrule projecting beyondthe end of said plug, a disk mounted removably :for venting purposesupon the projecting end of said ferrule, and a cap member mounted uponand covering the projecting end of said ferrule. Y

13. A `fuse device comprising in combination, a tubular casing, a plugmember serving as a closure for one end of said casing and having alongitudinally extending bore or channel containing a fuse, a springwithin said tubular casing engaging and acting upon the inner end ofsaid fuse, a metal ferrule encircling the end portion of said tubularcasing containing saidI plug member, said metal ferrule projectingbeyond the end of said plug member, and a disk mounted removably forventing purposes upon the projecting end of said ferrule, saidprojecting end of said ferrule having the end portion of its boreenlarged and said venting disk being tted into said enlarged portion ofsaid bore.

14. A fuse device comprising in combination, a tubular casing having oneend provided withV a plug which serves as a closure and contains a fuse,a metal ferrule surrounding the end of said casing containing said plugand also surrounding an end portion of said plug which projects fromsaid casing, a sleeve rigidly connected with said casing below saidmetal ferrule and a second sleeve mounted upon and outside of the lowerend of said metal ferrule and the upper end of saidv first mentionedsleeve, said second mentioned sleeve having threaded connection withsaid members.

In witness whereof, we hereunto subscribe our names this 22nd day ofDecember, A. D.

EDMUND 0. 'SCHWEITZER NICHOLAS J. CONRAD. Witnesses.:`

A.,LrnA JONES, HAzEL ArJoNEs.

